Another Strange Fish Story

I was listening to the news several nights ago and heard about a massive hunt for a predator fish that could decimate the fishing industry.

Well, I had to stay tuned for this "fishy" story because what kind of fish, swimming around the Great Lakes region, could be afloat and the focus of a fishhunt.

Just as I thought this had been a "hoax" story and I had swallowed it hook, line and sinker, lo and behold, the newscaster comes back from commercial break with news that a Northern Snakehead fish had been captured!

I said to myself, "what could a snakehead fish look like?. Surely, it's doesn't really look like its name?"

Wrong, it looks exactly like its name. Here's a picture taken in Maryland when two of these creatures were caught in 2002. http://www.csa.com/hottopics/snakehead/o...

The Northern Snakehead is an invasive species with its roots in China, Russia and Korea. It is illegal to bring the fish into the U.S. and the thought is this particular fish had been "let go" into the lake by someone.

They are a highly efficient predator, with no known enemies, that feed on fish, fish and more fish with devastating effects on the natural eco-system where multiple fish species survive.

Their voracious appetite means they could do a significant amount of damage to the fish industry and this has folks very concerned.

Not only are they versatile in the water, they can also survive on land!

This is where the snake attributes come into play. They not only breath air and can stay on land for up to four days, they are also adept at moving from one body of water to another by wriggling like a snake to propel them to their next destination.

The fact they are so agile and can move from lake to lake, is a huge problem as they are able to move, mate and create an established school of these predators in multiple areas wiping out the resident species.

After an intensive search of the harbor where the latest Snakehead was caught, no other culprits were found.

For more information about this story, please visit this link: http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/10/...

Thanks for visiting and please check out the links to "Topics Available for Adoption" at my Wildlife Preservation and Education topic.

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